Plans Move Forward On Joint Health District

September 11, 1996|By SUSAN CORICA; Courant Correspondent

NEW BRITAIN — Starting next year, a combined New Britain/Meriden regional health district is a given, according to Mayor Lucian Pawlak. But whether any other towns will join the district remains to be seen.

Pawlak said he met recently with Meriden Mayor Joseph Marinan, state Health Commissioner Stephen Harriman and officials from Newington and Plainville to discuss the idea of the suburban towns joining the two cities in a loose confederation.

``New Britain and Meriden are going ahead and the commissioner was very receptive. We've designated a study group, with five people from each municipality, to make the engagement work,'' Pawlak said. ``They'll be meeting to hammer out the structure before we present a formal agreement to the state.''

The tentative start-up date for the New Britain/Meriden district is Jan. 1, Pawlak said. He does not anticipate any problem with the geographic separation of the two cities.

State statutes already support the formation of a health district, but the larger confederation may need some special statutory approval so it will probably take longer to organize, he said.

The confederation would be set up on a two-year trial basis so interested towns could see how the arrangement works before they commit to it, the mayor added.

Newington and Plainville do not have full-time health departments and would benefit from sharing the municipal services, Pawlak said. ``Our health department is currently doing immunizations for Newington school kids. But there's a fear of being outvoted by Meriden and New Britain.''

The incentive for both New Britain and Meriden is increased state funding and the ability to offer more services, he said. State law protects the jobs of all full-time employees in merging health districts, except for those of the directors.

There are currently 17 regional health districts in Connecticut, including Bristol/Burlington, West Hartford/Bloomfield and the Torrington Area Health District, which is the largest.